Flowers Bloom
by wolfvonbiele93
Summary: see profile...SasuSakuNaru threesome pairing...yaoi and het...don't like, don't read! please don't message me about how you don't like yaoi or the threesome thing...i'll just delete your review.


Sorry about putting it up and then deleting it! I wasn't completely finished with it. Thanks for being so patient with _Pirates!._ Hopefully I'll do better with this story!

Chapter 1: Sakura's Choice

A young rosette sighs and stares out her window with a forlorn expression. She brings her legs up against her chest and leans her head against her knees, trying to stop the tears from falling from her eyes. It had been two years since _his _betrayal, and the other's leaving. She felt so alone…she runs her fingers through her hair, which was still cut in a bob. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she shifts and moves her legs so they were Indian-style. A memory springs into her mind unbidden, one she never wanted to relive again.

~Flashback~

_She could hear the sound of ninja sandals echoing off the streets as a lone genin walks down the main road of Konoha. She steps from her hiding place almost reluctantly, afraid of her suspicions coming true. In front of her is _him_, the ninja who had stolen her heart at such a young age. She runs her eyes over him, noticing the bag on his shoulder. Her eyes widen, and she could of sworn she heard herself gasp, but she couldn't be sure. Please, don't let him be leaving…!_

"_Why are you hanging around in a place like this in the middle of the night?" he asks, his voice as emotionless as ever. She looks down._

"_One has to pass down this road to leave the village." she says, letting him know she knew he what he was doing. He moves to go around her._

"_Go home and sleep." he says simply, his tone showing that he really didn't care if she listened or not. He passes her and continues down the road, not even looking back to her. A single tear slides down her cheek. _

"_Why…?" she asks, turning towards him. He doesn't turn to look at her._

"_Why won't you tell me anything?" she asks. She knew her voice sounded desperate, but she didn't care. "Why are you always silent like that? You won't tell me one single thing." If she got anymore worked up, she was sure she would start yelling._

"_Why do I have to tell you anything?!" he says, almost cutting her off. Tears were pouring out of her eyes now. How could he be so cruel?_

"_I'm telling to keep your nose out of my business." he doesn't even turn back to her. "Stop bothering me over everything I do." She didn't bother him over _everything_, did she? Her heart was slowly breaking at his words. She looks down, a wry smile spreading over her face. _

"_I…make you dislike me all the time, don't I?" she looks up, the smile __- the ever-present _smile_ - was till there. "Do you remember?" Damn these tears! "We had just become genin and the three-man squads were assigned…" she knew she was going out on a limb here, but she couldn't stop herself. Why hadn't he left yet? If he didn't care, why was he humoring her? "You and I were alone for the first time, here at this spot…" still his body was turned away from her. "You got mad at me." she had been talking to him about how this one kid was lucky about not having parents to lecture and scold him. Sasuke had gotten angry, and tried to explain to her how solitude was worse. That was the first time since they met that had called her, specifically, annoying. He had walked away from her and she had stared after him, a love-struck girl burned by the boy she loved and admired._

"_I don't remember that." he answers flatly. She gasps in shock, the tears coming down full force. Her tears make a loud splat noise as they drop on the stone road. She stares down at her feet dejectedly._

"_Yeah, I guess,…it was long ago after all…" she answers weakly. Why was she making excuses for him? "But it all began that day. Sasuke and me…and also Naruto and Kakashi sensei…" she smiles, remembering the fateful bell test; the test that changed it all…the Mist village…the fun they had had… "The four of us went on various missions, didn't we?" more and more images spring up, bringing more tears. "Those were tough and difficult times, but…but, more than anything…it was so much fun!" a brilliant smile somehow finds its way to her face. She looks at him, but he doesn't look back. She looks down again._

" _I know about your family, Sasuke…but revenge…" she looks away, knowing this would be hard for him to hear. "That won't bring anyone happiness…No one. Neither you…nor I." she had no right to say that, but she couldn't help it. She was only 12; so what if she was selfish?_

"_As I expected." he says with no small amount of amusement. "I'm different from you guys." How? How could that be possible? "I'm walking a path that is incompatible with the rest of you." What was he saying? "The four of us worked together and its true that there was a time when I thought that was my road. The four of us have worked together, but in the end, I decided on revenge. That's been my reason for living. I can't become like you and Naruto." those words cut through her like a knife. She felt anger bubble up in her._

"_Are you going to isolate yourself again, Sasuke? You taught me that solitude is a very rough thing that time, Sasuke!" she pulls her arms to her chest. Her heart felt like it was being ripped out. "Now I know exactly how that feels." and it was all his fault! "I have both family and friends, but if you were no longer here, Sasuke…" she steps forward. "For me…for me it would be the same as solitude." her voice was watery and weak. He stares down at the ground for a few seconds._

"_From here again…we're going to start walking our new paths individually." No!, her mind screams_

"_I…I love you so very, very much, Sasuke!" she confesses. She shocked herself completely, but she needed to continue…there was no turning back now. "If you would only be with me, Sasuke, I won't let you regret it, no matter what! I'll make it fun every day and you will definitely find happiness!" Wow, she was pathetic. "I'll do anything for you, Sasuke! So…I'm begging you, please stay here!" the desperation just keeps coming. She didn't even know where this next thought came from. "I'll even help you with your revenge. I'll make it happen, I promise you…!" At least she had the guts to try to make him stay. Where was Ino, huh?! "So stay here…with me!" she pauses for a second. The next thought was definitely stretching it. "If that doesn't work for you…then take me with you." She was pretty much sobbing by now. _

_He turns towards her for the first time since he passed her. That stupid smirk that she loved so much was on his face. _

"_You really are…annoying." she stares at him shock. How…how could he? He turns away from her. _

"_Don't go!" she cries desperately, mentally cursing her feelings. She runs forward, a daring thought in her head. He would hate her if it came true. _

"_If you go, I'll scream and…" suddenly, he disappears. Where did he go? She freezes when she feels him behind her. _

"_Sakura…thank you." the next thing she feels is pain in the back of her head, and darkness surrounds her. "Sasuke…" she whispers and her body crumbles to the ground _(1)

~End Flashback~

She had opened her heart and let in a snake who had wrenched it from her breast and left her bleeding on a cold bench. For power, of all things. And he had had that stupid little _smirk _on his face the whole time. She smiles ruefully, staring out towards the streets of her home village. Children were playing happily outside, passing a ball back and forth between each other. Soft cries rise from the ground and through her window. She looks down to see a young girl being picked on by some bigger children. A boy runs forward and scares them off, turning and comforting her when they left. She smiles wistfully. She felt so pathetic; for Kami's sake, she was jealous of a little kid! For the past two years, she sat here pining after that traitor who left Konoha, and her friend who left to succeed. Why she cared about this stupid city, she didn't know. It was the same city who had abused and ridiculed her closest and dearest friend to the point that she saw pure _joy _in his eyes when he left her to go train…

~Flashback~

_She and Naruto were standing near the village gate. They had been, for quite some time. Jiraiya stood off to the side, watching the silent duo. There had been so much she had wanted to say to him as she was walking here, but now…_

"_I'll find him Sakura, I promise." She hears him say softly. She looks up at him, tears threatening to fall. She wipes them away; she needed to be strong for Naruto._

"_I'll become stronger, and I'll drag that teme back to us, even if I have to _carry_ his ass here!" He says triumphantly, sending her a thumbs up, followed by his normal shout of 'dattebayo!' She giggles despite herself, smiling at him through her tears. Seeing the look in his eyes…that endearing confidence, made even her believe him. She laughs as he pulls her into a huge hug. Her petit arms wrap around him happily and she buries her face into his neck. _

"_Please do, Naruto." She whispers softly, trying to keep her voice from breaking. _

"_Hey kid! We gotta go soon!" Jiraiya calls, sending a leer to a pretty woman who walks by him. She rolls her eyes good-naturedly, smiling at him. _

"_Yeah, yeah I'm comin' pervy sage!" he yells back. He smiles goofily at her. She giggles again at him; he and Jiraiya were always bickering. No matter how hard she tried, he would never openly express his respect towards the sannin. She pulls away and presses her lips gently against his cheek. A blush falls on both of their cheeks._

"_Be careful…" She says, pushing him towards his new mentor. He smiles shyly, something uncharacteristic for the obnoxious blonde. _

"_I will." he says. He opens his mouth to say something but he closes it just as quickly, backing away._

"_Bye, Sakura." he says softly. He turns reluctantly away, walking slowly towards Jiraiya. She watches his retreating back, smiling sadly after him. _

"_Bye, Naruto." She whispers, the wind whipping the words from her mouth. For a brief second, Naruto looks up to the Hokage rock, smiling up at it, determination etched in his features. The two men exit Konoha, Naruto making some crack at Jiraiya, resulting in the older man yelling at him. _

_Now they were both gone _(2)_._

EndFlashback~

She could at least be happy that she and Naruto separated on good terms. The same couldn't be said for herself and _him_. After his betrayal, his name never left her mouth, although it flew through her mind everyday. After Naruto left, she thought of him all the time as well. His smile, his voice, his personality, his _everything. _He was like the sun that gave everyone life. Iruka seemed to mellow out and become more introverted without Naruto around for him to watch out for or scold. Hinata had decided to move on, centering her feelings towards the dog- and bug- user on her team. Ino and Tenten focused their prospects on their own teammates. That was one of the good changes in her life: she no longer had to compete against her friends/rivals (on Ino's part). Tsunade drank more and more, always staring out the window towards the Hokage cliff that Naruto had gazed at as he left and fingering the area on her neck where her necklace used to be. Her drunken ramblings centered around her beloved Dan, her little brother, Nawaki, and Naruto, the three men she found worthy of her crystal necklace. The only people who could make her smile was Sakura and Shizune.

Kakashi seemed to have been hit hard as well. It wasn't surprising, considering his favorite students left to become powerful shinobi. He practically threw himself into his work, going on mission after mission, never giving his body time to rest or recover before he put himself back in harms way. The two of them had lost touch when the others left. He rarely stayed in Konoha long enough to talk to her or anyone but Iruka. The two of them had begun a shaky but earnest relationship. He barely spared her a nod of recognition when they passed. She felt as if everyone she cared for was slowly slipping away from her. She could feel herself slipping away along with them. She worked double shifts at the hospital, healing patients on an almost non-stop basis. The only reason she wasn't in the hospital now was because Tsunade had forced her to take a break before she collapsed from chakra depletion or exhaustion. This time alone had given her time to think, and she had come to one heartbreaking, earth-shattering conclusion:

She wasn't good enough - wasn't _important_ enough - to make them stay.

They had all left her - she didn't _care _how selfish she sounded - and, no matter what she did, they hadn't come back to her. Tsunade got random letters from Naruto - none of which were addressed to her, but still asked of her - that came from all sorts of villages, and he told her of how well he was doing with his training; from what he said, he was getting ever stronger, becoming more and more like a worthy Hokage candidate. From word of mouth, she learned that he was also becoming stronger under Orochimaru's guidance. It was painful to learn that you weren't important to the boys - no, they were _men _now-that you loved. Yes, _loved_. She knew that much. She may not love Kakashi as she loved the others, but she once regarded him as a second father. Now he had faded into the background of her life willingly.

She brushed her bangs out of her emerald eyes for the hundredth time. This time had also given her time to think about her options. Honestly, sitting around here and moping about the past was getting her nowhere close to getting stronger or getting over their absence. She needed to do something before depression consumed her. Thinking about them, about Naruto and Sas - _him_, she mends mentally - was only bringing her down, and she felt as if she wasn't improving here in Konoha. Everything was the same, and she felt as if she had no room to really grow, as a kunoichi or a woman. Besides, she wanted to see more of the world than just the streets of Konoha. She had had a little taste of it when she was a genin and her boys were with her, and she wanted more. Suddenly, an idea forms in her head, one that was daring, and a little crazy for someone her age. All she needed was Tsunade's permission, and maybe she would get her chance…

PlaceSkip

She lands gracefully on the window sill of the Hokage tower. She peeks in looking around the hallway in front of her. She didn't want anyone to see her. She steps into the hallway and moves down it towards the large pair of doors that lead to the hokage's office. Once she reaches it, she presses her ear against the door to make sure that no one was there before throwing the doors open. Tsunade, the only occupant, looks up. Her eyes had the tell-tale sake glaze, which she planned on using to her advantage.

"Tsunade?" she says softly so as not to alarm her. She was known to be smack-happy when she was drunk. The blonde grunts, looking up at her. She squints at her, tilting her head to the side.

"Shizune?" she slurs, spilling her sake on the table. Sakura gently pulls the cup from her hand and lays it away from her grasp. The look that crosses Tsunade's face when she does that was enough to make any normal person give in, but she had something that she needed to do, and nothing was going to stop her. She sits on the desk as Tsunade lays her head down on the desk groggily.

"No, shishou, it's me, Sakura." she says, gently lifting Tsunade's head off the desk. She was alarmed by the totally wasted look in her mentor's eyes. Though her drinking had gotten worse, Tsunade had never been this bad. Sakura picks up the glass and sniffs it, her nose scrunching when the foul smell hit her nose. She had smelled sake before, but this one smelled abnormally strong. She grabs the bottle, dodging the older woman's desperately grabbing hands - she must have realized that she was about to lose her precious drink - and dumps it into a potted plant that decorated the office. The plant almost immediately droops, the leaves turning a dingy brown. It steamed when the liquid touched it.

"Shishou, do you know what you've been drinking?" she says, going to the desk and lifting her mentor's head up. The blonde's eyes were dilated and glassy, and she could only moan in answer. Sakura sends chakra to her hands, placing them on her mentor's head and sends the chakra through Tsunade's body. She could see a mental map of her innards, and a black goop was gathering in her mentor's stomach. She makes her chakra crush and break down the goop (most likely the sake), giving it the opportunity to leave her system like normal waste. She extracts her chakra and Tsunade shivers from the loss of warmth. Her eyes begin to shrink and the glaze retreats, but she could still see the slight inebriation in her demeanor. Sakura had to wonder where Tsunade had gotten that bottle, and if that's what the woman had been drinking for the last two years.

"Tsunade, I have something I want to ask you." She says gently, catching her attention.

"Yeah, yeah, what is it?" She murmurs, rubbing her eyes. She looks around the table. "Have you seen my sake?"

"Yeah, it just became that tree's lunch."

"What?! What's it doing there?" Tsunade walks briskly towards the cabinet that Sakura knew held more sake. The rosette jumps up and blocks the way to the cupboard.

"No, you need to listen to me first." the blonde growls but plops down onto her cushion in front of her desk.

"What is it?"

"I want to leave."

NOT PART OF THE STORY ( i seem to do these for all of my stories, huh?)

No.1: I got this directly from Naruto Episode 109 "An Invitation from the Sound," by Masashi Kishimoto

No.2: I know Naruto's leaving is shorter than Sasuke's, but it came directly from my head, not from Episode 220, "Departure," although the gazing-at-the-cliff thing came from that episode.

Ooh, Cliffie! Don't worry, though, I'm not giving up on _Pirates!_ just yet! I've got close to half of it done, but i'm experiencing some writer's block on intercharater interactions. If you guys have any suggestions, just message me!


End file.
